A federal judge has pared down T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris’ $71 million jury verdict over claims that toymaker MGA’s line of “O.M.G.” dolls copied their real-life teen pop group OMG Girlz, teeing up the long-running dispute for a whopping fourth trial.
The Tuesday (July 8) order from Judge James V. Selna is the latest in T.I. (Clifford Harris) and his wife Tiny’s battle with billionaire MGA owner Isaac Larian. Since 2020, MGA has been vehemently opposing the Harrises’ claim that the O.M.G. dolls rip off the name, outfits and neon-colored hair of the OMG Girlz — a defunct musical trio created by Tiny and featuring her daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins.
An initial trial in the case ended in a mistrial in January 2023 due to improper testimony about racism, and a jury cleared MGA of all wrongdoing at a second trial the following May. But that verdict was wiped on appeal amid evolving Supreme Court precedent, teeing up a third trial this past September in which jurors found that MGA did indeed infringe the OMG Girlz and awarded the Harrises $71 million in damages.
Judge Selna’s Tuesday order sustains the jury’s infringement finding and $18 million profit calculation, saying jurors “had substantial evidence with which to find that MGA misappropriated the OMG Girlz’ identity.” But the judge says the jury’s $53 million punitive damages award cannot stand because the Harrises did not prove that MGA deliberately copied the OMG Girlz.
“These pieces [of evidence], when put together, establish just one passing reference to the OMG Girlz in MGA internal emails and one image of a single band member on one product designer’s Pinterest board that also contained over 1,200 similar fashion-related images,” writes Judge Selna. “This is not clear and convincing evidence of willful infringement or conscious disregard for the rights of others.”
Judge Selna also says punitive damages are not supported because MGA’s conduct was not so bad as to rise to be “reprehensible” under the law. He notes that there was little evidence of emotional harm to the OMG Girlz, and that the Harrises “were not financially vulnerable.”
As a result, Judge Selna concludes that the Harrises can choose to either reduce the punitive damages award to $1 or have the case retried for a fourth time. T.I. and Tiny have indicated that they plan to opt for a retrial, according to the order.
“If the Harrises reject remittitur, the parties shall meet and confer and file a joint proposed briefing schedule for the structure of a new trial,” writes the judge.
Reps for both the Harrises and MGA did not return requests for comment on Tuesday.
